my journey in life as the woman in me merges with the mommy in me

Positive Influences

I was just about to write some random stuff for today’s post and then my brother sparked inspiration in me. Before I get started though I want to share a little bit about what led to the inspiration my brother triggered and thus reminded me about Sunday’s topic at Church.

Last week I made plans with my brother to meet up for lunch today at this Sushi spot that my husband and I love. So this morning I confirmed with my brother and then asked my husband if he wanted to join us. Long story short it worked out that my husband was able to join us and also that the place turned out to be incredibly packed. So we sat outside and I enjoyed some time with my husband and brother, unfortunately though I had to leave before they were done eating (our food took awhile to come out) so that my boss wouldn’t raise his eyebrows at me. I left my husband and brother to bond & finish eating and I headed back to work.

When I got back to the office I was texting with my brother and he told me that he had enjoyed the time he got to talk with my husband and said “I need positive influences in my life”. This put a knot in my throat and made me smile and thank God for the ways in which he works in our lives to show us his love and guidance. You see it got me thinking how sometimes we don’t realize the influence we may be having on someone else or vice versa during any given moment or interaction. My brother has been through many difficult moments in his life and I know that one of the tough things for him growing up was that he never had a positive male role model or influence and he’s told me before how he looks up to my husband. So for him to share that comment about positive influences was very touching and it just further confirmed to me that God is always with us and working through us in ways that we sometimes don’t even realize.

This coincidently goes hand in hand with the new series at our church and what our service was about this past Sunday. This new series is called “Invest in Yourself. Your life is the most important investment you can make” and the topic was “Take Initiative”. Our pastor talked about investing in ourselves and our lives with love and not loving other people’s lives but loving our own. He also spoke of “Take initiative to imitate the right people” and how we should be intentional of the people we imitate because we could otherwise end up imitating the behavior of someone who causes hurt or doesn’t follow God’s plan. Basically to follow those who are living a positive life and being a positive influence, someone who is living it and not just speaking it and also to be willing to admit our mistakes and learn and grow.

I think being aware helps you to be more intentional because if you just go about day by day you’re more likely to imitate those bad influences and cause grief in your life. So as you go about your day, remind yourself to be aware of positive influences, whether you’re on the giving or receiving end of it.

2 thoughts on “Positive Influences”

I love this. Sometimes changing your perspective a little makes you appreciate the small things in life all the more. Also, I have the similar feelings towards my brother. It would cause a lump in my throat, too. :o)